Gregory Isenor, P.Geo., President and CEO of Merrex Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MXI) has announced that IAMGOLD Corporation is accelerating exploration expenditures through to December 31, 2010 at Merrex`s West Mali Siribaya Gold Project.
- 4,000 metres of RC drilling to complete the planned 14,500 2010 RC drill program
- An additional 4,000 metres of RC drilling to follow-up on excellent intersections encountered earlier this year
- An extension of the ground geophysics (gradient array IP) to cover the remainder of the Bambadinka trend
- A further 3200 m of Auger drilling along the Bambadinka trend.
- Purchase a portable XRF to perform multi-element analyses on all drill pulp samples (DD, RC, RAB and auger) and on all termite mound samples
- Initiate preliminary work on a bridge over the Faleme River
IAMGOLD, operator of the Siribaya Gold Project, has advised Merrex of its plan to accelerate exploration expenditures at Siribaya by approximately CDN$750,000 through to December 31, 2010.
Commencing once the seasonal rains subside 4,000 metres of RC drilling along the Siribaya Mega-structure will complete the planned 2010 drill program of 14,500 metres.
An additional 4,000 metres of RC drilling will follow-up on excellent intersections encountered earlier this year. This drilling will start when access across the Faleme River becomes possible for heavy equipment, likely by the beginning of December.
The ground geophysical survey (gradient array IP) will be extended to cover the remainder of the Bambadinka trend and the mechanized auger program will be extended by 3,200 metres along the Bambadinka trend.
In addition, a portable XRF (x-ray fluorescence) analyzer will be purchased to analyse all dry pulp samples (including diamond drill, reverse circulation, rotary air blast and auger) and termite mound samples to identify pathfinder elements that could assist in drill targeting. A warehouse has been rented in Bamako to begin preparation of the pulps for multi-element analysis.
Lastly, IAMGOLD is initiating preliminary work on the planned bridge across the Faleme River which would vastly improve access to the project area and extend the field season. The bridge is scheduled for construction during the 2010-2011 dry season.
About the Siribaya Gold Project
Merrex controls 100% of the Siribaya Gold Project comprising over 840 square kilometres of contiguous exploration permits in West Mali including the Siribaya Mega-structure. The Siribaya Mega-structure has a CIM compliant NI43-101 resource estimate of 4,015,000 tonnes grading 2.39 g/t Indicated (308,200 oz Au) and 946,000 tonnes grading 2.29 g/t Inferred (69,500 oz Au). The NI43-101 resource is open to the north, south and at depth. Within the Siribaya Mega-structure there are at least two distinct substructures; the 500 metre wide x 10.5 kilometre long 1B substructure and the twin 500 metre wide x 9.5 kilometre long 1A sub-structure. The Siribaya Mega-structure has yielded ore-grade drill intercepts in a number of selected targets along its entire length. Recent RC drilling has confirmed extension of the Zone 1B mineralization to an interpreted continuity of over 3 kilometres and the extension of the Zone 1A mineralization to an interpreted continuity of over 2 kilometres with additional mineralized zones discovered also with an interpreted continuity of over 2 kilometres.
The 2010 exploration program also confirmed significant new gold trends at Babara, Bambadinka and West Siribaya.
In December, 2008 Merrex closed an Option Agreement with IAMGOLD pursuant to which IAMGOLD may incur up to CDN$10.5 million in exploration expenditures over 4 years, to earn a 50% interest in the Siribaya Gold Project, of which approximately CDN$5.5 million has been spent to October 1, 2010.
Since 2005 the combined exploration expenditures of Merrex and IAMGOLD total over CDN$13,500,000 at Siribaya.
Gregory P. Isenor, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information presented in this news release.
Source: Merrex Gold Inc.